YAWN! "Have you ever had one of those terrifying nights, when it seems like time has frozen, your brain won't take a break, and you plain just can't get to sleep?" This happens to me very often, but for me, being a nocturnal red-eyed tree frog and all, when I have trouble sleeping, it is during the day. On this particular day, I decided that it made perfect sense for me to visit my best friend, Sarah. She is the friendliest, parasitic, slime mold you could ever meet, and since she is always awake during daylight hours, I took advantage of the opportunity on my hands. The only problem though, is that my nemesis, Jake prowls around at this time of day. Jake is a ferocious Jaguar, that loves to sneak up on his meal of helpless little tree frogs, like myself. Then bacteria turn his meal into energy, which only allows him to chase after more tree frogs. Planning ahead, I carefully thought out a travel route that allowed me to get to Sarah's tree leaf. I thought this plan was perfect, because it avoided Jake's range of sight.
"HALT, TOD!" Jake ordered, for I didn't notice that he was prowling right by my tree home, and I leaped out into the open rainforest only to arrive upon a mud covered, furry, lump that was attached to a big ferocious beast. Snap! His jaws were right behind my ears, and I could feel Jake's warm, drooly, breath on my neck. My foolproof plan was not so foolproof after all.
"HELP!" I screamed as I hippity-hopped for my life. But my blood curdling-shriek was only heard by the coocoo chimpanzee, Chad. He just started cracking up, like this was some kind of show instead of reality. I knew that my only hope was to get to a banana tree and start climbing, because my suction cup feet work much better for climbing trees than jaguar claws. Unfortunately, once I reached the dense foliage, there wasn't a single bunch of bananas to hide behind. I stood, befuddled, as I realized that the only possible reason could be that Chad had eaten all of the bananas, given that they are his favorite food. Then I spied a miniscule branch that was barely sturdy enough to support my body weight, and I knew that it would not be strong enough to hold Jake. Although it was three trees away, I was determined to reach the limb of that tree, because I was certain that it was my only chance of survival. I leaped the biggest leap of my life. My heart was pounding, and my eyes were shut tight. I flung my tongue out of my mouth, to grasp the branch that was just barely in my reach. I was preparing for my deathly fall, when I felt my toes touch the rough, damp, surface of the twig. I was filled with joy, for I knew that I was safe in the clutches of the tree. I started to do a victory/happy dance, as I suddenly heard claws scratching at the bark of the tree. Jake was right behind me, and he had gathered quite a group of jaguar friends, all hungry for a little afternoon snack.
"You can leap, but you can't hide!" teased the posse of spotted creatures. As I Leapt higher up the tree, skipping from branch to branch, limb-to-limb, I caught a glimpse of Chad, enjoying himself, as he flung bananas at helpless animals that were trying to munch on some leaves. Suddenly, I thought of another plan. If I could run through the range of banana fire, and dodge the flinging fruit, it might be possible to get Jake to be bombarded with yellow fruit.
WAM! A huge bunch of bananas landed right in front of me. I jumped ten more leaps, almost reaching the end of the banana zone, when I didn't here any more growling from the group of animals behind me. As I turned around, I couldn't believe my eyes. Jake and all of the other Jaguars, had been hit in the head, causing them to lose their former memory of chasing frogs. All of the animals rejoiced, as they told them that frogs tasted terrible. Soon the air was filled with flying frogs, and I was able to resume my journey to Sarah's. I had to stop, and take a break, because I needed more energy. I found a little pond and was able to eat some moths, and a grasshopper! YUM! They tasted really great, and the digestive bacteria, gave me energy to keep traveling. As I was about to leave, I heard the algae whispering.
"Don't go! I never get company!" It shouted. So, I stayed for a while. Once I became so bored that I almost fell asleep listening to the algae talk, I decided to tell him that I would come and visit on my way back, but I had to go. Then I continued on my way to Sarah's. She was so excited to see me that I thought she would fall off of her banana tree sprout. Sarah was very thrilled when I told her how Jake was right behind me and I was almost devoured by at least twenty hungry demons! I thought that she was a frightened by my story, and since she cared so much about my safety, I spent the night there. We had lots of fun that night playing "guess that picture" in the moist soil. The next day, Sarah kept a close watch over me as I had a peaceful dream about me being king of the rainforest, with Sarah as my royal assistant. I snuck out the next night, when I knew all of my predators were taking their nightly snoozes. As I promised, I stopped at the algae's pond. We had a nice chat this time though, and I found out that the algae's name was Arty. Arty told me that the reason he was so lonely, was that his best friend Derek, a mushroom, had died because he carried a very dangerous disease. I felt bad for him, so I visited him and Sarah every night. On my nightly visits, I was supplied with plenty of grasshoppers and moths from the pond by Arty, and some delicious dessert from Sarah. I was just getting used to this wonderful life, when a new jaguar came to town and the tree frogs and I went back to hiding like our freedom was only a dream. Compared to life with no jaguars, we are now living in another nightmare!
A Day In the Tropical Rainforest
Written by Mary A.
Monkeys swinging 'round,
Colorful wings fill the air,
Breezes blow the leaves.
The Fascinating Tropical Rainforest
Written by Cassie T.
Tree Frogs Riveting Scenes Orangatans Protozoa Iguanas Chimpanzees Awesome Lots of rain
Relaxing Abundant with Many Creatures Intriguing Nice Fascinating Organisms Rain Excellent Slime Mold Toucans
Tropical Rainforest Fictional Story
Life Through Big Red Eyes Main Characters:
Life Through Big Red Eyes
YAWN! "Have you ever had one of those terrifying nights, when it seems like time has frozen, your brain won't take a break, and you plain just can't get to sleep?" This happens to me very often, but for me, being a nocturnal red-eyed tree frog and all, when I have trouble sleeping, it is during the day. On this particular day, I decided that it made perfect sense for me to visit my best friend, Sarah. She is the friendliest, parasitic, slime mold you could ever meet, and since she is always awake during daylight hours, I took advantage of the opportunity on my hands. The only problem though, is that my nemesis, Jake prowls around at this time of day. Jake is a ferocious Jaguar, that loves to sneak up on his meal of helpless little tree frogs, like myself. Then bacteria turn his meal into energy, which only allows him to chase after more tree frogs. Planning ahead, I carefully thought out a travel route that allowed me to get to Sarah's tree leaf. I thought this plan was perfect, because it avoided Jake's range of sight.
"HALT, TOD!" Jake ordered, for I didn't notice that he was prowling right by my tree home, and I leaped out into the open rainforest only to arrive upon a mud covered, furry, lump that was attached to a big ferocious beast. Snap! His jaws were right behind my ears, and I could feel Jake's warm, drooly, breath on my neck. My foolproof plan was not so foolproof after all.
"HELP!" I screamed as I hippity-hopped for my life. But my blood curdling-shriek was only heard by the coocoo chimpanzee, Chad. He just started cracking up, like this was some kind of show instead of reality. I knew that my only hope was to get to a banana tree and start climbing, because my suction cup feet work much better for climbing trees than jaguar claws. Unfortunately, once I reached the dense foliage, there wasn't a single bunch of bananas to hide behind. I stood, befuddled, as I realized that the only possible reason could be that Chad had eaten all of the bananas, given that they are his favorite food. Then I spied a miniscule branch that was barely sturdy enough to support my body weight, and I knew that it would not be strong enough to hold Jake. Although it was three trees away, I was determined to reach the limb of that tree, because I was certain that it was my only chance of survival. I leaped the biggest leap of my life. My heart was pounding, and my eyes were shut tight. I flung my tongue out of my mouth, to grasp the branch that was just barely in my reach. I was preparing for my deathly fall, when I felt my toes touch the rough, damp, surface of the twig. I was filled with joy, for I knew that I was safe in the clutches of the tree. I started to do a victory/happy dance, as I suddenly heard claws scratching at the bark of the tree. Jake was right behind me, and he had gathered quite a group of jaguar friends, all hungry for a little afternoon snack.
"You can leap, but you can't hide!" teased the posse of spotted creatures. As I Leapt higher up the tree, skipping from branch to branch, limb-to-limb, I caught a glimpse of Chad, enjoying himself, as he flung bananas at helpless animals that were trying to munch on some leaves. Suddenly, I thought of another plan. If I could run through the range of banana fire, and dodge the flinging fruit, it might be possible to get Jake to be bombarded with yellow fruit.
WAM! A huge bunch of bananas landed right in front of me. I jumped ten more leaps, almost reaching the end of the banana zone, when I didn't here any more growling from the group of animals behind me. As I turned around, I couldn't believe my eyes. Jake and all of the other Jaguars, had been hit in the head, causing them to lose their former memory of chasing frogs. All of the animals rejoiced, as they told them that frogs tasted terrible. Soon the air was filled with flying frogs, and I was able to resume my journey to Sarah's. I had to stop, and take a break, because I needed more energy. I found a little pond and was able to eat some moths, and a grasshopper! YUM! They tasted really great, and the digestive bacteria, gave me energy to keep traveling. As I was about to leave, I heard the algae whispering.
"Don't go! I never get company!" It shouted. So, I stayed for a while. Once I became so bored that I almost fell asleep listening to the algae talk, I decided to tell him that I would come and visit on my way back, but I had to go. Then I continued on my way to Sarah's. She was so excited to see me that I thought she would fall off of her banana tree sprout. Sarah was very thrilled when I told her how Jake was right behind me and I was almost devoured by at least twenty hungry demons! I thought that she was a frightened by my story, and since she cared so much about my safety, I spent the night there. We had lots of fun that night playing "guess that picture" in the moist soil. The next day, Sarah kept a close watch over me as I had a peaceful dream about me being king of the rainforest, with Sarah as my royal assistant. I snuck out the next night, when I knew all of my predators were taking their nightly snoozes. As I promised, I stopped at the algae's pond. We had a nice chat this time though, and I found out that the algae's name was Arty. Arty told me that the reason he was so lonely, was that his best friend Derek, a mushroom, had died because he carried a very dangerous disease. I felt bad for him, so I visited him and Sarah every night. On my nightly visits, I was supplied with plenty of grasshoppers and moths from the pond by Arty, and some delicious dessert from Sarah. I was just getting used to this wonderful life, when a new jaguar came to town and the tree frogs and I went back to hiding like our freedom was only a dream. Compared to life with no jaguars, we are now living in another nightmare!
A Day In the Tropical Rainforest
Written by Mary A.Monkeys swinging 'round,
Colorful wings fill the air,
Breezes blow the leaves.
The Fascinating Tropical Rainforest
Written by Cassie T.Tree Frogs
Riveting Scenes
Orangatans
Protozoa
Iguanas
Chimpanzees
Awesome
Lots of rain
Relaxing
Abundant with Many Creatures
Intriguing
Nice
Fascinating
Organisms
Rain
Excellent
Slime Mold
Toucans
Tropical Rainforest Factual Information
Tropical Rainforest Bibliography
Tropical Rainforest Home
Tropical Rainforest Food Web